'* 


0  -      Sv    -ETIN  NO.  22.  '>'•    A    I    1-JU.) 

?=  U..S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

1  1  BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 
6  I 


;  PROCEEDINGS 

OF  THE 

I  ~~ 

SECOND  ANNUAL  MI-I-TINT, 

OF   TIIF. 

ASSOCIATION 

OF 

EXPERIMENT  STATION  VETERINARIANS, 


HELD    AT 


8, 


WASHINGTON  : 

(i  O  V  1.  i:  N  MENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 


BULLETIN  No.  22.  <B.  A.  1. 120.) 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 


OF  THE 


SECOND  ANNUAL  MEETING 

OF  THE 

ASSOCIATION 


OF 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  VETERINARIANS, 


HELD  AT 


OMAIIA,  IN  ERR  ASK  A, 

September  S,  1898. 


WASHINGTON  : 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 

1898. 


LETTER  OE  TRANSMITTAI, 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OP  AGRICULTURE, 

BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  November  11,  1898. 

SIR  :  I  transmit  herewith  a  record  of  the  proceedings,  with  accom- 
panying papers,  of  the  Association  of  Experiment  Station  Veterina- 
rians, held  at  Omaha,  Nebr.,  on  September  8,  1898,  and  recommend 
its  publication  as  a  bulletin  of  this  Bureau. 

The  Association  of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations, 
the  Association  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists,  and  the  entomolo- 
gists of  the  experiment  stations  have  been  organized  for  several  years, 
and  their  proceedings  have  been  published  by  this  Department. 
That  rapid  and  beneficial  progress  has  been  the  result  of  such  coop- 
eration is  beyond  question.  The  veterinarians  recognize  this  fact,  and 
a  few  who  are  especially  interested  have  put  forth  efforts  to  effect  a 
similar  organization.  It  is  believed  that  the  nucleus  already  formed 
will  grow  into  an  organization  which  shall  not  only  be  of  service  to 
the  several  States,  but  be  helpful  as  well  to  the  General  Government 
in  cooperating,  as  necessity  may  arise,  with  the  Bureau  of  Animal 
Industry. 

Respectfully, 

D.  E.  SALMON, 

Chief  of  Bureau. 
Hon.  JAMES  WILSON, 

Secretary. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Growing  tubercle  bacilli  for  tuberculin,  by  C.  A.  Gary,  B.  S.,  D.  V.  M . ...  8 

Feeding  wild  plants  to  sheep,  by  S.  B.  Nelson,  D.  V.  M 10 

Delphinium  inenziesii 11 

Castilleja  pallescens .  -  - 12 

C/repis  barbigera 12 

The  astragali. 12 

Zygadenus  venenosus 13 

Frasera  albicaulis 13 

Sisyrinchium  grandiflorum .'. 13 

Antenaria  luzuloides - 13 

Arnica  f  ulgens 13 

Lupinus - 14 

Peucedanuin  grayii - 14 

The  experiment  station  veterinarian  as  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of 

Health 14 

Rules  concerning  work  in  the  veterinary  department 15 

Laboratory  records  for  veterinarians,  by  A.  W.  Bitting,  D.  V.  M  ...'. 18 

The  desirability  of  cooperation  between  the  station  veterinarian  and  local 

veterinarians  in  the  State,  by  A.  W.  Bitting,  D.  V.  M 20 

The  exhibit  of  the  United  States  Experiment  Station  veterinarians  at  the 

Paris  Exposition  in  1900,  by  A.  T.  Peters,  D.  V.  M 22 

The  value  to  veterinarians  of  cooperative  experiments,  by  L.  L.  Lewis, 

M.  S.,  D.  V.  M ...  24 

Constitution  and  by-laws  of  the  Association  of  Experiment  Station  Veteri- 
narians  : 26 

5 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  SECOND  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 
THE  ASSOCIATION  OF  EXPERIMENT  STA- 
TION VETERINARIANS,  1898. 


The  Association  of  Experiment  Station  Veterinarians  met  in  its 
second  session  in  the  Millard  Hotel,  Omaha,  Nebr.,  on  September  8, 
1898.  The  following  named  members  were  present: 

MEMBERS   PRESENT. 

J.  W.  Connaway,  Missouri  Agricultural  College  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, at  Columbia. 

James  Law,  Cornell  University  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 
at  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

C.  A.  Gary,  Agricultural  Station  of  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
College  of  Alabama,  at  Auburn. 

S.  B.  Nelson,  Washington  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  at 
Pullman. 

A.  T.  Peters,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  at  Lincoln,  Nebr. 

M.  H.  Reynolds,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  at  the  University 
of  Minnesota,  at  St.  Anthony  Park. 

D.  E.  Salmon,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

M.  Stalker,  Iowa  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Ames. 

NEW   MEMBERS. 

New  members  were  elected  as  follows : 

S.  S.  Buckley,  Maryland  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  at 
College  Park. 

Paul  Fischer,  Kansas  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  at  Man- 
hattan. 

W.  C.  Laiigdon,  North  Dakota  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 
at  Agricultural  College. 

F.  L.  Russell,  Maine  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Orono. 

NEW    OFFICERS. 

Officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  elected  as  follows : 
President,  James  Law. 
Vice-President,  J.  W.  Connaway. 
Secretary-Treasurer,  A.  T.  Peters. 

Executive  committee:  M.  Stalker,  A.  W.  Bitting,  and  M.  H. 
Reynolds. 


8  BUREAU   OF   ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

The  Secretary,  reporting  for  the  past  year,  expressed  gratification 
at  the  work  done  by  the  association.  There  was  more  cooperation 
among  the  stations  than  heretofore,  and  good  feeling  prevailed. 

Changes  among  the  veterinarians  of  the  various  stations  were 
noted,  as  follows :  N.  S.  Mayo,  who  resigned  from  the  Kansas  Ex- 
periment Station,  is  now  with  the  station  at  Storrs,  Conn.  The 
position  at  Storrs  was  vacated  by  G.  A.  Waterman,  who  is  now  with 
the  station  at  Lansing,  Mich.  A.  A.  Grange  resigned  from  the 
Michigan  station  and  is  now  connected  with  the  Detroit  College  of 
Medicine  in  its  veterinary  department.  The  position  vacated  by  S. 
B.  Staples  at  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  is  now  occupied  by  W.  H.  Dalrymple. 
Paul  Fischer  is  now  located  with  the  station  at  Manhattan,  Kans. 
W.  B.  Niles  resigned  from  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College,  at  Ames, 
and  J.  A.  Craig  has  been  selected  as  his  successor. 

Papers  read  before  the  association  follow  herewith. 


GROWING  TUBERCLE  BACILLI  FOR  TUBERCULIN. 

By  C,  A.  GARY,  B.  S.,  D.  V.  M., 
Veterinarian,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Auburn,  Alabama. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  project  new  ideas  or  discov- 
eries, but  rather  to  make  a  few  suggestions. 

In  order  to  make  tuberculin  one  must  first  secure  a  pure  culture  of 
tubercle  bacilli.  This  may  be  done  by  procuring  a  pure  culture 
from  some  one  who  has  it,  or  by  isolating  the  bacilli  from  a  tuber- 
culous animal  or  man.  The  latter  method  should  be  adopted,  because 
the  former  leads  to  lazy  habits  and  inexperience.  Secure  some  fresh 
tuberculous  sputum ;  wash  some  of  its  solid  or  albuminous  particles 
through  six  to  ten  changes  of  sterilized  distilled  water ;  inject  one  or 
more  of  these  particles  into  the  peritoneal  sac  of  a  guinea  pig,  a  rab- 
bit, or  a  house  mouse.  In  three  or  four  weeks  and  before  the  animal 
dies  of  the  disease,  kill  it  and  from  the  spleen  and  liver  carefully 
inoculate  several  of  the  ordinary  blood  serum  tubes  and  of  Loffler's 
blood  serum  mixture  tubes.  Keep  these  tubes  in  the  incubator  at 
37.5°  C.,  and  in  twenty  to  thirty  days  the  characteristic  pure-culture 
growth  will  be  observed  in  some  of  the  tubes.  Other  tubes  may 
exhibit  no  growth,  and  still  others  may  show  growths  of  other  germs. 

A  large  stock  of  neutral  glycerin  bouillon  should  be  kept  on  hand. 
It  is  best  to  make  this  bouillon  from  veal  or  with  beef  from  an  animal 
less  than  one  year  old.  However,  the  most  essential  thing  in  prepar- 
ing this  bouillon  is  that  it  should  be  neutral  in  reaction.  This  is  most 
accurately  secured  by  titrating  a  0.4  per  cent  solution  of  sodium 
hydrate  into  10  cc.  of  the  bouillon  to  which  has  been  added  a  drop 
of  an  alcholic  solution  of  phenolphthalein.  The  10  cc.  of  bouillon 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   ASSOCIATION   OF   VETERINARIANS.  9 

should  be  taken  from  the  bouillon  mixture  after  it  has  been  heated 
and  the  coagulated  albuminous  materials  have  been  removed  by  fil- 
tration. Then  the  delicate  rose  color,  which  indicates  the  neutral 
stage  will  be  readily  observed.  After  making  the  calculation,  neu- 
tralize the  acidity  in  the  bouillon  by  adding  the  proper  quantity  of  an 
8  per  cent  solution  of  sodium  hydrate.  After  neutralizing,  the  bouil- 
lon should  be  cooked  and  filtered  again.  This  method  was  first  used 
by  Schulz,  and  is  described  in  full  by  Abbott  in  his  ' '  Principles  of 
Bacteriology. " 

After  the  bouillon  has  been  neutralized  and  sterilized,  put  it  into 
large,  flat-bottomed  Erlenmeyer  or  antitoxine  flasks,  sterilize  again, 
and  then  inoculate  with  tubercle  bacilli.  Some  authorities  recommend 
floating  a  small  quantity  of  the  dry  bacilli  from  an  old  agar-agar  cul- 
ture upon  the  surface  of  the  bouillon,  but  this  is  very  difficult.  I  find 
that  it  is  just  as  efficient  to  take  upon  the  platinum  wire  some  of  a 
moist  growth  of  the  tubercle  bacilli  and  rub  them  over  the  inside 
surface  of  the  flask  on  a  level  with  the  top  or  upper  surface  of  the 
bouillon.  It  is  best  and  easiest  to  inoculate  a  small  Erlenmeyer  flask 
of  bouillon  as  suggested  above ;  and  when  a  thin  film  has  formed  over 
the  surface,  small  pieces  of  the  film  may  be  lifted  out  with  a  hooked 
platinum  wire  and  they  will  readily  float  upon  a  bouillon  surface. 

After  the  cultures  have  grown  at  a  temperature  of  37.5°  C.  for  six 
or  eight  weeks,  heat  in  steam  sterilizer  for  1 5  minutes ;  run  through 
sterilized  filter  paper ;  then  pass  it  through  a  Pasteur-Chamberlain  air 
pressure  filter  or  any  good  filter  that  will  remove  all  of  the  germs. 
The  filtrate  may  be  evaporated  on  a  water  bath  to  one-tenth  of  its 
original  volume,  and  the  result  will  be  the  strong,  or  concentrated, 
form  of  tuberculin  Kochii.  This  form  keeps  better  or  longer  than 
any  other.  One-half  to  1  per  cent  of  carbolic  acid  may  be  added  to 
the  filtrate  and  the  tuberculin  will  keep  for  some  time.  It  will  have 
the  regular  strength,  and  be  ready  for  use  without  requiring  any 
changes.  To  the  filtrate  may  be  added  an  equal  quantity  of  pure 
glycerin ;  this  will  preserve  it  by  preventing  the  growth  of  accidental 
infection,  but  will  make  it  one-half  as  strong  as  the  normal,  or  regu- 
lar, tuberculin.  This  last  method  has  not  been  tried  sufficiently  to 
warrant  the  writer  in  recommending  it  in  preference  to  the  well-tried 
methods. 


10  BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

FEEDING  WILD  PLANTS  TO  SHEEP. 

By  S.  B.  NELSON,  D.  V.  M., 

Professor  of  Veterinary  Sciences,  Washington  Agricultural  College  and  School 

of  Science. 

For  many  years  past  there  have  occurred  in  the  State  of  Washing- 
ton, when  sheep  were  being  moved  from  winter  quarters  to  summer 
pastures,  serious  losses  in  the  flocks.  According  to  the  statements 
of  the  various  sheep  owners  these  losses  have  occurred  in  certain 
definite  localities  in  the  spring,  but  not  in  the  autumn,  when  the 
sheep  were  returned  to  their  winter  feeding  quarters.  These  fatali- 
ties happening  under  apparently  the  same  conditions — at  the  same 
time  and  place  each  year — led  the  sheep  owners  to  believe  that  the 
deaths  were  due  to  eating  some  grass  or  weed  which  acted  as  a  poison 
to  the  sheep.  This  condition  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
Experiment  Station  and  certain  members  commenced  the  work  of 
investigating  the  cause  of  the  great  mortality  in  the  flocks.  As  these 
experiments  are  not  completed,  it  is  not  the  intention  of  this  paper 
to  discuss  the  cause  of  the  death  of  the  sheep,  but  to  record  the 
results  of  feeding  to  sheep  different  plants,  many  of  which  have  been 
and  are  considered  poisonous  to  sheep  and  other  domesticated  ani- 
mals. 

The  station  botanist  went  into  these  various  localities  and  ascer- 
tained what  plants  were  there.  About  thirty-five  different  plants 
were  observed,  and  as  many  as  possible  of  these  were  fed  and  the 
results  noted.  The  plants  found  were  grouped  into  two  classes: 
First,  those  from  which  might  be  expected  a  positive  result ;  second, 
those  from  which  a  negative  result  might  be  looked  for — judgment 
on  both  classes  being  based  on  public  opinion  about  many  of  the 
plants;  and  also  consideration  being  given  to  the  abundance  with 
which  the  plants  were  distributed.  Following  is  the  list  of  plants 
collected : 

Class  1. — Delphinium  menziesii,  Castillejapallescens,  Crepis 
barbigera,  Astragalus  dorycnioides,  Astragalus  spaldingii, 
Astragalus  palousensis,  Zygadenus  venenosus,  Frasera  albi- 
caulis,  Antenaria  luzuloides,  Sisyrinchium  grandiflorum,  Ar- 
nica fulgens. 

Class  2. — Saxifraga  integufolia,  Lupinus  ornatus,  Leptotce- 
nia  multifida,  Peucedanum  grayii,  Synthyris  rubra,  Clematis 
douglassii,  Heuchera  glabella,  Lithospermum  pilosum,  Gera- 
nium, Potentilla,  Eriogonum  heracleoides,  Geum  triflorum, 
Grindelia  nana,  Chcenactis  douglasii. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   ASSOCIATION   OF   VETERINARIANS. 
DELPHINIUM    MENZIESII. 

The  first,  and  which  was  thought  the  most  important,  was  Del- 
phinium menziesii.  Three  sheep  were  used  in  this  experiment. 
Prior  to  the  experiment  they  had  been  kept  in  a  lot  where  there  was 
running  water  and  were  fed  timothy  hay. 

Experiment  No.  1. — May  17:  At  4:30  p.  m.,  sheep  No.  1,  a  ewe, 
was  tethered  in  a  patch  where  Delphinium  was  very  plentiful.  She 
was  returned  to  the  stable  at  8 :30  p.  m.  There  was  evidence  that 
she  had  eaten  the  blossoms  of  a  few  Delphinium.  The  next  day  she 
was  placed  in  the  patch  at  5  a.  m.  and  returned  to  the  stable  at  8 
p.  m.  Besides  the  plants  that  she  had  cropped,  there  was  given  to 
her  about  1  pound  of  gathered  Delphinium  plants,  which  she  ate. 
On  May  19  she  was  again  tethered  in  the  patch  and  given,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  amount  she  obtained  there,  1  pound  of  Delphinium.  This 
was  repeated  on  May  2-0 ;  but  she  had  only  one-half  pound  of  the 
gathered  plant.  She  had,  however,  eaten  everything  within  her 
reach  except  some  scattered  plants  of  Brodice  douglasii.  The  fol- 
lowing day  she  was  staked  out  in  a  fresh  place.  She  once  in  a  while 
bit  off  the  heads  of  the  Delphinium,  but  did  not  seem  to  prefer  it; 
however,  by  the  evening  she  had  eaten  all  the  green  material  within 
the  reach  of  her  tether  except  the  Brodice  douglasii.  May  22 :  She 
was  tethered  in  a  fresh  place  at  5:30  a.  m.,  and  by  9  a.  m.  she  had 
eaten  all  the  grass  and  Delphinium  within  her  reach.  On  the  23d 
and  24th  she  was  all  right.  Here  we  have  an  experiment  in  which 
a  sheep  is  kept  tethered  in  a  patch  of  Delphinium  for  six  days,  and 
she  ate  all  of  the  plant  that  she  could  obtain  and  was  fed  24  pounds 
besides,  with  a  negative  result. 

Experiment  No.  2. — This  sheep  was  placed  in  a  small  pen,  and 
on  May  18  was  given  5  pounds  of  Delphinium,  consisting  of  stems, 
leaves,  flowers,  and  unripe  pods.  May  19:  He  had  eaten  all  that 
was  given  him  yesterday.  May  20 :  At  noon  he  was  given  24  pounds 
of  Delphinium  that  was  gathered  on  the  18th.  Probably  consider- 
able of  the  plant's  water  had  evaporated ;  how  much,  I  do  not  know. 
In  2.4  hours  he  had  eaten  nearly  all  of  it,  and  at  this  time  was  fed  5 
pounds  that  had  just  been  picked.  The  next  day  he  had  eaten  all 
that  had  been  given  him  the  day  before.  He  was  given  3  pounds 
that  was  partially  dried.  It  had  been  picked  24  hours.  Four  hours 
later  he  had  eaten  the  3  pounds  and  was  then  given  7  pounds  just 
gathered.  May  22  :  Removed  l\  pounds  that  he  had  not  eaten.  He 
was  given  34  pounds  24  hours  old.  The  next  day  it  was  all  eaten. 
May  24  and  25:  He  was  well  and  the  experiment  was  ended. 

This  sheep  was  fed,  in  5  days,  24f  pounds  of  Delphinium,  of  which 
lof  pounds  were  freshly  gathered,  64  pounds  24  hours  old,  and  24 
pounds  48  hours  old.  All  this  with  a  negative  result.  Certainly 


12  BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

this  was  more  of  the  plant  than  a  sheep  would  possibly  gather  on 
the  range  in  the  same  length  of  time.  During  these  5  days  he  had 
nothing  else  to  eat,  subsisting  wholly  on  Delphinium. 

Experiment  No.  3. — This  was  intended  as  a  check  on  experiment 
No.  2 ;  but  this  sheep  did  not  eat  the  plant  so  readily.  It  consumed 
during  the  5  days  only  6i  pounds.  The  result,  however,  was  also 
negative. 

These  experiments  certainly  are  strong  evidence  that  Delphinium 
menziesii,  at  least  when  eaten  fresh  at  this  time  of  the  year,  is  not 
poisonous  to  sheep. 

CASTILLEJA   PALLESCENS. 

This  plant  was  looked  upon  with  distrust  as  being  poisonous,  for 
the  reason  that  it  occurs  only  in  a  few  places  in  the  State  in  abundance, 
and  these  places  were  where  the  sheep  often  died.  Two  sheep  were 
used  in  this  experiment,  which  began  May  26.  Fed  to  the  first  If 
pounds  of  Castilleja.  The  next  day  it  was  observed  that  he  had 
eaten  only  a  little,  but  he  was  given,  in  addition,  the  same  amount 
as  before.  May  26 :  Only  a  little  eaten.  May  29  :  Nearly  all  eaten. 
May  30 :  All  was  consumed.  In  4  days  he  ate  1|-  pounds  of  the 
plant.  On  May  30,  the  second  sheep  was  fed  2  ounces  of  Castilleja, 
which  he  ate  immediately. 

The  results  of  both  of  these  experiments  were  negative. 

CREPIS   BARBIGERA. 

We  were  informed  by  a  party  very  much  interested  in  this  matter 
that  years  ago  he  had  seen  Crepis  barbigera  fed  to  sheep  with  fatal 
results.  I  therefore  looked  for  positive  results  from  these  trials. 
Two  sheep  were  used. 

May  26  :  There  were  fed  to  the  first  one  2  ounces  of  Crepis.  The 
next  day  he  had  not  eaten  all  of  it.  May  28 :  It  was  all  eaten  and 
he  was  given  one-half  pound,  which  was  eaten  by  the  following  day. 
June  23  :  The  second  sheep  was  fed  If  pounds  of  Crepis  barbigera, 
which  he  ate  as  if  he  relished  it. 

Nothing  detrimental  to  the  sheep  resulted  from  either  experiment. 

THE   ASTRAC4ALI. 

These  plants  have  at  various  times  been  suspicioned  of  causing 
trouble  in  our  domestic  animals.  We  used  the  three  following  spe- 
cies: Astraglus  spaldingii,  A.  palousensis,  A.  dorycnioides. 
Of  Astragalus  dorycnioides,  5^  ounces  were  fed  May  26.  Of 
A.  spaldingii,  12  ounces  were  fed  June  3,  and  again  to  the  same 
sheep  were  given  1£  pounds  on  June  8,  five  days  later.  June  9 :  2£ 
pounds  of  A.  palousensis  were  fed  to  the  third  sheep.  These  sheep 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   ASSOCIATION  OF   VETERINARIANS.  13 

ate  the  various  amounts  given  them  during  the  night  following 
without  any  ill  effects  resulting.  Could  these  experiments  have  been 
continued  for  a  longer  period  of  time,  it  may  be  that  pathological 
changes  would  have  followed  the  continuous  feeding. 

ZYGADENUS   VENENOSUS. 

This  plant  is  called  "poison  camas"  by  the  Indians,  and  it  is  re- 
ported that  the  eating  of  the  bulb  has  caused  death  in  the  human 
family.  On  May  31,  June  1  and  2,  a  sheep  was  fed  1£  ounces  daily. 
He  would  eat  them  from  the  hand  with  apparent  relish.  However, 
his  appetite  was  kept  sharpened  so  that  he  would  eat  almost  anything. 
June  4 :  Fed  to  this  sheep  1  pound  of  the  plant,  both  in  blossom  and 
in  fruit.  This  amount  was  all  eaten  during  the  night.  The  sheep 
remained  well. 

FRASERA    ALBICAULIS. 

This  beautiful  plant  was  next  tried  on  one  sheep.  June  3 :  He  was 
fed  1^  pounds,  which  he  ate  before  next  morning.  June  5  :  Fed  to 
him  5  pounds,  of  which  he  ate  about  one-half  during  the  night.  By 
the  8th  he  had  eaten  nearly  all.  On  this  day  he  was  fed  three-fourths 
pound  more,  which  was  4  days  old.  He  ate  this  last  amount  dur- 
ing the  night.  In  all  he  received  7i  pounds  without  any  apparent 
injury. 

SISYRINCHIUM   GRANDIFLORUM. 

The  plants  of  this  species  that  were  fed  were  4  years  old  and  about 
20  of  these  stalks  were  fed.  The  sheep  ate  them  out  of  the  hand. 
Result,  negative. 

ANTENARIA    LUZULOIDES. 

Three  pounds  were  gathered  and  fed  to  one  sheep.  It  was  all 
eaten  in  less  than  24  hours,  without  any  visible  bad  results. 

ARNICA   FULGENS. 

This  was  the  last  plant  in  this  class  to  be  used.  Fed  to  a  sheep  2 
pounds  of  the  plant  that  had  been  gathered  18  hours.  The  material 
was  all  eaten  during  the  day.  Results,  entirely  negative. 

This  closed  the  experiments  with  those  plants  from  which  we  had 
some  reason  to  obtain  some  clearly  visible  physiological  effects. 
There  was  fed  of  the  different  plants  from  one-eighth  to  7  pounds  in 
one  day. 

In  the  second  class  the  following  were  fed  and  eaten  in  about  6 
hours'  time:  Saxifraga  integufolia,  7  ounces;  Leptotcenia  multi- 
fida  If  pounds;  Grindelia  nana,  2  pounds;  Chcvnactis  douglassi, 
1£  pounds.  No  poisonous  S37mptoms  followed. 


14  BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

LUPINUS. 

On  May  30,  there  was  fed  to  a  sheep  1^  pounds  at  11  a.  m. ;  at  6 
p.  m.  it  was  all  consumed.  The  next  day  he  was  given  2^-  more 
pounds,  which  he  ate  greedity.  June  1 :  That  amount  was  doubled, 
giving  him  5  pounds ;  this  he  consumed  by  the  next  day.  This  sheep 
was  fed  8£  pounds  in  a  few  hours  less  than  three  days.  No  untoward 
effects  resulted. 

PEUCEDANUM    GRAY II. 

On  May  31  I  fed  1-J-  pounds  of  this  stinking  plant,  having  much 
doubt  that  the  sheep  would  eat  it.  The  following  morning  it  had, 
however,  all  disappeared.  Two  days  later  he  was  fed  at  one  time  4 
pounds,  which  he  ate  by  the  following  morning.  The  sheep  showed 
no  ill  effects  from  it. 

The  following  five  plants  were  fed  to  five  different  sheep:  Clem- 
atis douglasii,  4  pounds;  Lithospermum  pilosum,  4  pounds; 
Geranium,  3^  pounds;  Potentilla,  4  pounds;  and  Eriogonum  hera- 
cleoides,  3^  pounds.  Each  sheep  ate  his  allowance  in  less  time  than 
one  day  and  showed  no  ill  effects  whatever  from  it. 

Of  the  next  three  plants,  a  smaller  amount  was  given :  Synthyris 
rubra,  1  pound;  Heuchera  glabella,  H  pounds;  and  Geum  tri- 
florum,  three-fourths  pound.  The  sheep  took  nearly  24  hours  to  eat 
this,  and  the  result  again  was  negative. 

In  these  experiments  from  three-fourths  to  4  pounds  of  the  various 
plants  were  fed  in  one  day  without  appreciable  effect  on  the  sheep. 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  acknowledge  the  valuable  advice  and 
assistance  of  the  station  botanist,  C.  V.  Piper,  in  carrying  on  these 
experiments. 


THE  EXPERIMENT  STATION  VETERINARIAN  AS  A 
MEMBER  OF  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF  HEALTH. 

By  M.  H.  REYNOLDS,  D.  V.  M.,  M.  D., 

Veterinarian,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  the  University  of  Minnesota. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  there  is  not  greater  uniformity  in  methods  of 
controlling  infectious  diseases  among  domestic  animals.  Some  States 
have  adopted  the  plan  of  a  State  veterinarian,  assisted  by  local  depu- 
ties, the  State  veterinarian  having  little  or  no  connection  with  the 
State  board  of  health,  while  other  States  are  trying  to  control  in- 
fectious diseases  among  domestic  animals  through  boards  of  live 
stock  commissioners.  Some  States  have  a  State  veterinarian  work- 
ing on  very  meagre  salary,  and  other  States  have  State  veterinarians 
who  are  nongraduates  and  who  are  given  considerable  authority. 
And  still  other  States  are  trying  to  control  these  diseases  by  means 
of  official  titles ;  that  is,  they  have  officers  and  titles,  but  these  offi- 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   ASSOCIATION    OF    VETERINARIANS.  15 

cers  are  practically  without  funds  arid  without  sufficient  authority. 

In  Minnesota  all  police  authority  concerning  infectious  diseases  of 
animals  is  vested  in  the  State  board  of  health.  Until  January  1, 
1897,  this  board  was  composed  exclusively  of  physicians.  For  a 
great  many  years  Minnesota's  State  board  of  health  presented  the 
strange  combination  of  a  board  composed  exclusively  of  practitioners 
of  human  medicine,  having  absolute  authority  concerning  infectious 
diseases  of  domestic  animals.  During  this  time  the  gentleman  who 
held  the  position  of  Experiment  Station  veterinarian  was  expected 
to  visit  outbreaks  and  accomplish  marvelous  things  in  the  way  of 
checking  infectious  diseases  without  any  authority.  This  situation 
and  the  results  of  this  method  did  not  prove  satisfactar}^  to  our  stock 
interests.  Stockmen  made  such  vigorous  objections  during  the  win- 
ter and  spring  of  1890  and  1897  that  the  governor  decided  to  appoint 
a  veterinarian  to  membership  on  the  State  board  of  health.  After 
due  consideration  he  appointed  the  Experiment  Station  veterinarian. 
This  is  the  present  situation  in  our  State.  Possibly  another  veteri- 
narian may  be  appointed  to  membership  on  the  board  in  the  future, 
and  then  the  work  will  be  divided  more  nearly  as  it  should  be. 

Our  newly  appointed  member  of  the  State  board  of  health  was 
soon  made  chairman  of  the  committee  on  infectious  diseases  of  ani- 
mals and  given  immediate  charge  of  the  correspondence  and  general 
office  work  pertaining  to  that  work.  After  about  six  months  of  this 
work,  he  was  made  director  of  a  newly  created  veterinary  depart- 
ment. This  divided  the  work  of  the  board  into  three  parts — that 
of  the  secretary  and  general  executive  officer,  the  bacteriological 
laboratory  in  charge  of  a  director  (and,  by  the  waj%  we  have  a  labo- 
ratory and  bacteriologist  in  connection  with  this  work  in  Minnesota, 
of  which  we  are  proud),  and  the  veterinary  department.  Rules 
which  partly  define  the  duties  and  authority  of  the  Director  of  the 
Veterinary  Department  have  been  adopted  as  follows : 

RULES  CONCERNING   WORK   IN  THE   VETERINARY   DEPARTMENT. 

1.  The  Director  of  the  Veterinary  Department  shall  have  the  privilege  of  pro- 
posing such  circulars  and  rules  as  he  may  deem  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
fining the  policy  of  the  board  with  reference  to  the  veterinary  work  of  the 
board.  Such  circulars  and  rules  shall  be  submitted  to  the  executive  committee 
or  to  the  State  board  of  health  for  approval. 

3.  The  Director  shall  conduct  the  correspondence  dealing  exclusively  with 
veterinary  matters.  He  shall  have  the  necessary  police  authority  to  enable  him 
to  order  quarantine  when  in  his  judgment  such  course  shall  become  necessary. 
He  shall  have  authority  to  use  his  judgment  in  releasing  quarantine  in  unusual 
cases,  independent  of  the  rules  governing  quarantine. 

3.  All  agents  and  employees  doing  veterinary  work  in  the  field  shall  report  to 
the  Director,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Director  to  furnish  the  Secretary 
with  such  summaries  of  regular  work  and  with  such  other  information  as  the 
Secretary  may  need. 


16  BUREAU   OF   ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Director  to  refer  such  matters  as  violation  of  the 
law  dealing  with  infectious  diseases  of  animals,  general  enforcement  of  said 
law,  and  indifference  and  carelessness  of  local  health  officers,  to  the  Secretary  for 
action. 

5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  field  veterinarian  to  investigate  outbreaks  of 
infectious  diseases  among  domestic  animals,  when  deemed  advisable  by  the 
Director  of  the  Veterinary  Department,  and  to  attend  to  such  experimental  and 
other  veterinary  work  as  may  seem  necessary.     When  not  doing  field  work,  it 
shall  be  his  duty  to  assist  the  Director  in  correspondence  and  other  office  work. 

6.  The  field  veterinarian  shall  have  authority  to  order  quarantine,  to  kill  and 
release  quarantine  of  domestic  animals,  in  accordance  with  the  rules  and  recog- 
nized methods  of  the  State  board  of  health. 

7.  It  is  hereby  declared  the  policy  of  the  State  board  to  pay  the  salary  and 
furnish  transportations  for  the  field  veterinarian.     Local  boards  are  expected  to 
pay  all  his  other  legitimate  expenses  incurred  in  work  for  them. 

The  work  of  the  Veterinary  Department  has  grown  rapidly  in  all 
directions.  During  the  last  year  we  employed  one  field  veterinarian. 
This  spring  we  added  another.  Thus,  you  see,  we  have  one  veteri- 
narian as  a  member  of  the  State  board  of  health  and  two  others 
engaged  in  the  field  work  of  the  board.  One  of  these  field  veterina- 
rians devotes  his  entire  time  to  hog  cholera ;  the  other  does  miscella- 
neous work,  going  to  outbreaks  of  any  disease  of  unusual  importance, 
to  outbreaks  where  there  is  dispute  among  different  veterinarians 
who  have  been  called  by  owners  and  local  boards,  and  to  places  in  the 
State  where  there  are  no  competent  veterinarians. 

Perhaps  I  should  explain  that  in  Minnesota  we  expect  the  local 
board  to  employ  in  ordinary  cases  a  local  veterinarian  and  take  care 
of  their  own  outbreaks  of  infectious  diseases  among  domestic  ani- 
mals under  the  direction,  of  course,  of  the  State  board.  The  law 
requires  that  local  health  officers  shall  report  to  the  State  board  of 
health  within  24  hours  after  receiving  information  of  an  infectious 
disease. 

During  the  four  years  of  my  work  as  an  Experiment  Station  vet- 
erinarian before  my  connection  with  the  State  board  of  health,  I 
was  constantly  crippled  for  lack  of  police  authority.  An  Experiment 
Station  veterinarian  is  usually  expected  to  visit  outbreaks,  make 
diagnoses,  and  write  prescriptions,  and  then  he  is  severely  blamed 
because  the  outbreak  of  glanders  or  anthrax,  or  possibly  sheep  scab, 
does  not  promptly  abate.  During  this  time  I  could  give  such  infor- 
mation and  advice,  and  write  such  prescriptions,  but  had  no  authority 
to  insist  on  anything.  If  I  did  this  kind  of  work  for  the  State  board 
of  health,  the  Station  received  no  credit. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  State  board  of  health  veterinarian  or  State 
veterinarian,  as  the  case  may  be,  who  has  no  connection  with  an 
Experiment  Station,  is  very  apt  to  be  crippled  for  lack  of  opportuni- 
ties and  funds  for  investigation.  For  instance,  he  visits  an  outbreak 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   ASSOCIATION   OF   VETERINARIANS.  17 

of  disease  that  affords  a  very  peculiar  and  unusual  history.  The 
trouble  may  be  due  to  faulty  conditions  of  the  feed,  but  he  is  unable 
to  make  a  careful  investigation  and  gather  satisfactory  information 
as  to  the  cause  and  nature  of  the  trouble,  perhaps  for  lack  of  funds 
for  such  work. 

An  Experiment  Station  veterinarian,  who  is  also  a  State  board  of 
health  veterinarian  or  State  veterinarian,  has  splendid  opportunities 
for  collecting  material,  for  doing  a  great  variety  of  experimental 
work  and  keeping  accurate  records  with  very  little  expense  to  the 
station.  He  can  collect  an  abundance  of  material  for  almost  any  sort 
of  experimental  work,  almost  without  expense  to  the  station.  This 
is  especially  true  if  he  has  access  to  a  well-furnished  bacteriological 
laboratory. 

Another  advantage  is  that  such  an  arrangement  brings  about  a 
hearty  cooperation  between  two  great  institutions  which  might  other- 
wise be  working  separately  and  more  or  less  fruitlessly  in  the  same 
field,  each  one's  work  incomplete  without  the  data  which  the  other 
could  furnish.  By  the  way,  I  might  suggest  that  in  Minnesota  this 
plan  of  cooperation,  especially  in  matters  of  agricultural  interest,  is 
in  quite  general  and  happy  operation.  For  instance,  our  State  Uni- 
versity, including  our  Agricultural  College  and  School  of  Agricul- 
ture, our  Experiment  Station,  and  State  Farmers'  Institutes,  are  all 
intimately  associated  in  their  work,  partly  because  the  regents  of  the 
University  and  Experiment  Station  are  influential  members  on  the 
Board  of  Control  of  the  State  Farmers'  Institutes.  Our  State  Fair 
Grounds  adjoin  the  Experimental  Farm ;  and  there  is  the  closest  pos- 
sible cooperation  between  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  Minnesota 
Stock- Breeders'  Association  and  the  Experiment  Station  with  its 
congeners,  the  College  and  School  of  Agriculture  and  the  State 
Farmers'  Institutes.  The  Experiment  Station  veterinarian  is  also 
director  of  the  veterinary  department  of  the  State  board  of  health. 

We  find  cooperation  between  the  veterinary  work  of  the  Experi- 
ment Station  and  the  State  board  of  health  to  be  very  satisfactory. 
We  found  the  work  unsatisfactory  before  such  combination  was  made. 
So  long  as  we  had  one  authority  in  the  State  who  had  charge  of  in- 
fectious diseases,  and  another  who  worked  in  both  parts  of  this  field 
but  had  no  police  authority  over  infectious  diseases,  the  work  for  each 
outbreak  was  more  or  less  tangled. 

Owing  to  the  way  in  which  the  work  is  organized  in  Minnesota, 
outbreaks  of  infectious  diseases  among  domestic  animals  are  discov- 
ered and  reported  by  the  local  health  officer  to  the  State  board.  If 
the  outbreak  is  such  that  it  can  be  taken  care  of  by  the  local  health 
officer  or  by  a  representative  of  the  State  board  of  health,  and  all 
that  is  needed  is  a  little  police  authorit}*,  it  does  not  necessarily  in- 
volve the  station  work  at  all.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  is  work  that 


18  BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

invites  investigation,  the  Experiment  Station  furnishes  materials  and 
means  for  such  work,  and  finally,  if  it  is  thought  best,  publishes  and 
distributes  the  results  of  such  investigations. 

If  representatives  of  the  State  board  of  health  and  Experiment 
Station  go  into  the  legislature  together  and  ask  for  an  appropriation 
or  modification  of  existing  laws,  they  are  apt  to  be  successful. 

Correspondence  and  other  office  work  of  the  veterinary  depart- 
ments of  the  two  institutions  can  be  greatly  economized  by  coopera- 
tion. There  is  needed  only  one  set  of  office  records  and  one  official 
head  for  the  two  departments.  Although  there  may  be  a  large  cor- 
respondence and  an  immense  amount  of  office  records  and  files  to 
look  after,  the  work  can  be  so  planned  that  one  office  assistant  does 
this  work  for  both.  In  our  State  the  Experiment  Station  permits  me 
to  use  a  portion  of  my  time  for  the  State  board  of  health  work  on 
the  ground  that  I  would  have  to  do  a  great  deal  of  this  work  whether 
connected  with  the  State  board  of  health  or  not.  The  office  assist- 
ant and  stenographer  does  all  my  correspondence  and  keeps  Station 
records,  although  her  salary  is  paid  by  the  State  board  of  health. 

By  this  cooperation  we  avoid  a  great  deal  of  duplicating,  which 
would  otherwise  be  unavoidable.  For  instance,  I  write  a  small  bul- 
letin on  hog  cholera  and  swine  plague  for  the  Experiment  Station ; 
after  it  has  been  distributed  by  the  Experiment  Station,  I  condense 
it  into  a  small  circular  for  use  in  the  State  board  of  health  work. 

Let  me  say,  in  conclusion,  that  I  hope  that  the  work  of  this  associa- 
tion will  aid  in  bringing  about  greater  uniformity  and  closer  coop- 
eration between  our  various  States ;  and  when  this  work  is  organized 
as  it  should  be  every  State  will  have  one  or  more  veterinarians  on 
the  State  board  of  health,  and  the  Station  veterinarian  will  be  ex 
officio  a  member  of  that  board. 


LABORATORY  RECORDS  FOR  VETERINARIANS. 

By  A.  W.  BITTING,  D.  V.  M., 
Veterinarian,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  Indiana. 

One  of  the  first  essentials  in  research  work  is  the  adoption  of  some 
system  of  keeping  records.  It  matters  little  what  system  is  used  if 
it  possesses  the  merit  of  convenience  and  clearness  in  giving  the 
information  desired.  Some  stations  have  a  common  method  of  re- 
porting for  all  departments.  Some  utilize  blank  forms,  which  are 
filled  out  each  day  and  filed.  Others  keep  the  records  in  books  of 
uniform  style,  while  a  few  have  no  fixed  method,  but  trust  to  report- 
ing each  experiment  by  itself. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   ASSOCIATION   OF    VETERINARIANS.  19 

A  method  which  commends  itself  to  those  who  have  used  it  is  the 
card-index  system,  because  of  its  adaptability  to  so  many  kinds  of 
reports.  It  is  the  only  convenient  system  that  can  be  employed  in 
keeping  a  bibliography  of  the  special  subjects  under  investigation. 
It  requires  but  a  few  hours  to  catalogue  all  the  articles  in  the  veter- 
inary journals  each  month  and  probably  only  a  few  minutes  to  index 
the  special  articles  relating  to  the  subjects  under  study.  I  under- 
took the  task  of  making  a  complete  index  of  all  the  English  periodical 
veterinary  literature.  The  journals  indexed  are  The  Veterinarian, 
The  Veterinary  Journal,  The  Edinburg  Veterinary  Review,  The 
Veterinary  Record,  The  American  Veterinary  Review,  The  Journal 
of  Comparative  Medicine,  The  Veterinary  Magazine,  and  the  Journal 
of  Veterinary  Science  in  India.  The  number  of  cards  now  in  the 
index  is  over  50,000,  and  it  will  require  about  12,000  more  to  bring 
the  work  up  to  the  close  of  1898.  While  this  index  is  of  great  con- 
venience and  value,  I  coujd  not  recommend  anyone  to  attempt  to 
duplicate  it,  as  the  work  is  several  times  greater  than  is  anticipated. 
If  a  few  stations  need  such  an  index,  it  would  be  far  more  con- 
venient to  have  a  printed  copy  made  from  this  one  than  to  duplicate 
the  work.  I  believe,  in  general,  it  will  be  found  to  be  profitable  to 
index  only  special  subjects,  although  all  will  admit  the  *use  and  de- 
sirability of  having  a  complete  index.  In  making  a  bibliographical 
index  the  same  style  should  be  used  as  followed  by  public  libraries. 

The  card  index  is  the  most  convenient  form  of  recording  the  pres- 
ence and  distribution  of  diseases  in  the  State.  The  card  should  give 
the  name  of  the  disease,  the  locality,  the  time  when  reported,  and 
the  name  of  the  person  reporting  it.  The  cards  may  be  filed  accord- 
ing to  the  disease  reported  or  by  counties  to  give  the  distribution. 

The  index  is  one  of  the  best  means  for  keeping  a  record  of  the 
equipment  of  the  laboratory.  The  card  should  give  the  name  of  the 
article,  of  whom  and  when  purchased,  and  the  cost.  When  the  arti- 
cle is  broken  or  consumed  the  card  may  be  removed  and  an  inventory 
is  always  at  hand.  For  recording  staining  reagents  it  should  give 
the  formula  and  date  of  preparation  of  each. 

A  card  index  serves  as  a  convenient  method  of  keeping  certain 
laboratory  notes.  Examinations  are  frequently  made  of  material 
out  of  the  usual  line  of  work  and  a  brief  record  is  all  that  is  needed. 
Such  a  record  upon  a  card  may  be  filed  and  become  useful  at  some 
future  date  when  the  subject  is  under  consideration.  Reports  of 
cases  may  be  filed  in  the  same  way.  So  far  as  possible  it  is  best  to 
use  the  large  index  cards,  and  for  recording  laboratory  examinations 
or  cases  cards  of  usual  height  but  double  length. 


20  BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

THE  DESIRABILITY  OF  COOPERATION  BETWEEN  THE 
STATION  VETERINARIAN  AND  THE  LOCAL  VETERI- 
NARIANS IN  THE  STATE. 

By  A.  W.  BITTING,  D.  V.  M., 
Veterinarian,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  Indiana. 

It  may  be  possible  to  imagine  an  experiment  station  so  well  equipped 
and  so  liberally  provided  with  funds  that  the  veterinarian  at  the  head 
of  his  department  can  use  his  discretion  in  the  selection  of  the  disease 
or  the  special  problem  for  investigation ;  that  he  may  go  wherever 
the  disease  is  present,  stay  as  long  as  may  be  necessary  to  make  a 
complete  series  of  observations,  or  repeat  his  visitations  until  he  has 
learned  all  that  he  can.  In  such  a  position  he  could  be  independent 
of  public  demands,  and  could  utilize  all  his  energy  in  prosecuting 
his  work. 

A  veterinarian  occupying  a  position  in  a  State  experiment  station  is 
confronted  with  a  difficult  set  of  conditions.  The  funds  for  maintain- 
ing this  department  are  limited.  He  is  usually  compelled  to  make 
his  studies  upon  outbreaks  of  disease  and  such  sporadic  cases  as  occur 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  station.  If  he  visits  localities  at 
some  distance  from  the  station  he  is  rarely  permitted  to  have  all  the 
time  that  is  necessary  to  complete  the  work  or  repeat  his  visitations 
because  of  exhaustion  of  the  funds.  Under  the  conditions  existing 
at  most  of  the  stations  the  veterinarian  can  have  at  best  only  a  small 
number  of  cases  of  any  disease  upon  which  to  make  observations  or 
experiments.  The  public  demands  that  he  should  be  informed  con- 
cerning the  occurrence  and  distribution  of  contagious  diseases,  and 
in  many  instances  that  he  shall  give  assistance  in  their  suppression. 
Of  all  the  members  of  the  station  staff  he  is  the  least  independent. 
He  can  not  order  an  outbreak  of  disease  for  his  special  study ;  he 
can  not  control  the  location  or  duration  of  the  disease  when  one  does 
occur ;  and  he  can  obtain  information  upon  the  occurrence  and  dis- 
tribution of  contagious  diseases  in  the  State  only  through  corre- 
spondence. 

I  believe  the  veterinary  department  of  the  experiment  station  and 
the  veterinarians  in  the  State  should  be  on  such  friendly  terms  that 
cooperative  work  may  be  conducted  to  the  advantage  of  both.  The 
station  can  act  as  a  medium  to  give  the  latest  information  upon  the 
results  of  its  own  researches  and  announce  the  work  that  is  being 
accomplished  at  other  places.  The  station  may  also  give  assistance 
in  diagnosis  in  certain  cases  where  the  microscope  or  other  special 
equipment  is  necessary.  The  veterinarian,  in  turn,  may  be  of  great 
assistance  to  the  station  by  reporting  outbreaks  of  disease  and  the 
results  of  any  experiments  which  he  may  undertake. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF  ASSOCIATION   OF  VETERINARIANS.  21 

In  1890  and  1897  I  made  an  attempt  to  determine  whether  cooper- 
ation was  practical  and  whether  the  station  would  gain  information 
to  compensate  for  the  work  required.  There  were  ninety-six  qualified 
veterinarians  in  the  State.  A  circular  letter  setting  forth  the  plans 
and  blanks  for  reporting  the  number  of  cases  occurring  in  their  prac- 
tice each  month  were  sent  to  each  veterinarian.  The  list  of  diseases 
upon  which  reports  were  desired  were  those  most  common  in  the 
State.  It  included  abortion  (infectious)  among  mares  and  cows, 
actinomycosis,  anthrax,  cholera,  glanders,  influenza,  rabies,  specific 
ophthalmia  among  cattle,  sporadic  aphthae,  tetanus,  tuberculosis, 
azoturia,  colic,  other  intestinal  diseases,  parturient  apoplexy,  periodic 
ophthalmia,  pneumonia,  cerebro-spinal  meningitis,  bursatte,  fistulae, 
lameness,  etc.  At  first  I  received  about  thirty-five  replies,  but  the 
number  gradually  became  smaller  until  only  eight  remained  after 
the  month  of  August.  In  1897  I  tried  a  different  plan,  and  made 
my  blank  upon  a  postal  card  and  distributed  them  at  the  end  of  each 
month.  I  sent  the  postal  cards  to  about  twenty-five  addresses  and 
had  fifteen  reports  for  each  month  of  the  year.  At  the  close  of  the 
year  there  was  much  greater  interest  than  at  the  beginning,  and  I 
feel  certain  that  I  could  have  doubled  the  number  of  correspondents. 
The  work  was  abandoned,  as  I  contemplated  withdrawing  from 
station  work. 

The  time  covered  by  this  work  is  admittedly  too  short  to  draw  con- 
clusions from  the  reports,  but  they  seem  to  indicate  that  certain 
diseases,  such  as  tetanus  and  parturient  apoplexy,  are  of  far  more 
common  occurrence  than  is  generally  suspected;  that  certain  dis- 
eases, such  as  fistulse  and  bursatte,  are  common  in  some  localities 
and  rare  in  others;  and  that  seasonal  influences  are  less  marked 
than  is  often  asserted.  The  station  received  fifty-one  species  of 
parasites  for  identification  and  also  a  number  of  pathological  speci- 
mens. At  the  suggestion  of  the  writer  several  new  preparations 
were  used  and  reports  received.  The  station  supplied  its  own  publi- 
cations and  gave  notice  of  all  bulletins  upon  veterinary  science  as 
they  appeared  at  other  stations  and  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry. 
Upon  the  whole  the  station  was  well  repaid  for  its  part  of  the  work, 
and  the  veterinarians  expressed  the  desire  to  have  it  continued. 

One  of  the  good  effects  that  was  wholly  foreign  to  the  original 
object  was  the  increased  interest  which  it  developed  in  the  State 
Veterinary  Medical  Society.  At  the  first  three  meetings  of  the 
society  which  I  attended,  only  seven  or  eight  members  were  pres- 
ent. The  three  meetings  held  after  the  correspondence  was  estab- 
lished was  attended  by  from  twenty  to  thirty  members. 


22  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

THE  EXHIBIT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  EXPERIMENT 
STATION  VETERINARIANS  AT  THE  PARIS  EXPOSI- 
TION IN  1900. 

By  A.  T.  PETERS,  D.  V.  M., 
Investigator  of  Animal  Diseases,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  Nebraska. 

I  take  pleasure  in  presenting  a  subject  which  ought  to  be  of  vital 
interest  to  every  member  of  this  association,  namely,  the  veterinary 
exhibit  of  the  United  States  Experiment  Stations  at  the  Paris  Expo- 
sition in  1900.  As  is  well  known,  at  the  convention  of  the  Associa- 
tion of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations,  held  in  July, 
1897,  at  Minneapolis,  a  committee  upon  a  collective  exhibit  of  the 
experiment  stations  at  the  Paris  Exposition  in  1900  was  appointed, 
consisting  of  H.  P.  Armsby,  M.  A.  Scovell,  W.  H.  Jordan,  A.  W. 
Harris,  and  A.  C.  True.  The  committee  has  had  a  meeting  in  con- 
ference with  Hon.  James  Wilson,  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  and  the 
executive  committee  of  the  above  association.  As  yet  no  appropria- 
tion has  been  made  by  Congress  for  such  an  exhibit,  but  the  com- 
mittee, as  a  result  of  their  meeting,  have  seen  fit  to  proceed  with  the 
preliminary  arrangements.  Mr.  Armsby  has  written  me  regarding 
the  exhibit  of  the  Veterinary  Department,  and  I  have  consented  to 
bring  the  matter  before  this  body  for  its  careful  consideration. 

Mr.  Armsby  writes  that  ' '  the  committee  desires  to  make  in  this 
exhibit  a  presentation  of  the  origin,  history,  and  work  of  the  stations 
which  shall  be  calculated  to  illustrate  the  essential  and  distinguish- 
ing features  of  the  American  system  of  experiment  stations  as  com- 
pared with  those  of  other  countries.  With  this  end  in  view,  it  is 
proposed  to  make  the  exhibit  technical  rather  than  popular  in  its 
nature,  appealing  to  the  expert  and  the  administrator  rather  than  to 
the  farmer.  In  carrying  out  this  plan,  it  is  the  intention  to  make 
use  of  two  methods :  First,  it  is  intended  to  prepare  a  report  which 
shall  include  a  characterization  of  the  work  of  the  experiment  stations 
along  four  main  lines,  namely:  (a)  Police  and  control  work;  (b) 
studies  of  natural . resources  and  conditions;  (c)  demonstration  on 
experiments ;  (d)  scientific  investigations.  Second,  based  upon  this 
report,  it  is  desired  also  to  make  as  attractive  an  exhibit  as  practica- 
ble of  selected  typical  examples  of  experimental  methods  and  results." 

I  have  given  this  matter  no  little  study,  and  the  more  thought  I 
spend  upon  it  the  more  perplexing  becomes  the  question  as  to  how 
we  veterinarians  can  best  show  to  the  Old  Country  our  unique  way 
of  investigating  scientific  problems.  I  believe  this  question  can  be 
settled  right  here  at  the  meeting  of  experiment  station  veterinarians. 
And  hence  I  have  thought  it  advisable  to  offer  this  paper  merely  as 
an  introduction  to  the  discussion  which  I  know  you  will  enter  into 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   ASSOCIATION   OF   VETERINARIANS.  23 

heartily.  The  committee  desires  not  "a  complete  and  exhaustive 
report  upon  our  work,  nor  a  complete  bibliography,  but  a  characteri- 
zation of  the  main  lines  and  tendencies  of  our  work,  classified  under 
the  headings  given  above." 

Concerning  police  and  control  work  may  be  mentioned  the  work 
done  by  the  experiment  station  veterinarians  in  aiding  the  Bureau  of 
Animal  Industry  in  formulating  the  best  methods  of  controlling  con- 
tagious diseases  by  quarantine  regulations,  sanitary  measures,  and 
vaccination.  In  this  work  what  greater  triumph  have  our  foreign 
brethren  scored  than  we  have  scored  in  preventing  the  spread  of 
Texas  fever  to  the  Northern  States  by  the  quarantine  laws,  and  in 
successfully  eradicating  pleuro-pneumonia  in  the  United  States; 
which  latter  fact  will  always  be  a  source  of  great  wonderment  to 
foreign  veterinarians,  and  which  it  will  take  scores  of  years  for  them 
to  accomplish  ?  Too  much  can  not  be  said  in  regard  to  our  work  in 
eradicating  sheep  scab  by  the  enforcement  of  sanitary  measures  and 
quarantine  rules,  when  we  consider  how  easy  it  is  for  it  to  spread 
unless  the  strictest  laws  are  observed.  Another  thing  that  is  char- 
acteristic of  American  veterinarians  is  the  work  done  by  the  different 
States  in  controlling  tuberculosis  and  glanders  by  the  extensive  use 
of  tuberculin  and  mallein  and  the  destruction  of  the  diseased  animals. 

In  demonstrating  our  experiments  we  shall  be  able  to  show  that 
they  are  original  and  unique.  Though  not  all  have  been  successful, 
yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  a  great  per  cent  have  been  successful ; 
in  fact,  a  much  larger  per  cent  than  is  publicly  known.  And  even 
those  that  have  failed  have  in  a  way  been  stepping  stones  to  higher 
scientific  investigations.  The  veterinarians  abroad  who  are  unfa- 
miliar with  what  we  have  done,  and  who  have  given  us  credit  for 
so  little,  can,  if  we  take  advantage  of  this  opportunity,  be  shown 
that  our  work  ranks  as  high  as  theirs.  This  latter  fact  has  never 
been  conceded  by  them,  but  we  must  remember  that  the.  investiga- 
tions and  experiments  of  our  veterinarians  do  not  date  back  so  far  as 
do  those  of  European  investigators,  and  hence  it  becomes  our  oppor- 
tunity to  illustrate  to  them  that  our  work  of  recent  years  compares 
surprisingly  favorable  with  theirs.  Personally,  I  believe  that  along 
certain  lines  our  investigations  even  exceed  those  of  our  foreign 
brethren.  To  back  this  up  I  should  like  to  call  attention  to  American 
investigations  in  Texas  fever  as  compared  with  the  German  investi- 
gations in  Wildseuche  and  Biiffelseuche,  which  are  supposed  to  be  the 
same  as  Texas  fever. 

Besides  these  researches,  which  have  resulted  in  the  discovery  of 
the  real  cause  of  Texas  fever,  the  movements  of  the  little  tick,  and 
the  best  method  of  treatment  and  prevention,  let  me  call  attention 
to  the  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  and  the  experiment 


24  BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

stations  in  investigating  hog  cholera.  In  this  country  this  investiga- 
tion is  undoubtedly  foremost .  As  much  as  this  may  be  said  concerning 
actinomycosis  and  many  other  diseases  too  numerous  to  mention  here. 

I  have  pointed  out  to  you  only  a  few  of  the  many  distinguishing 
features  that  go  toward  characterizing  the  work  of  the  United  States 
experiment  station  veterinarians,  and  I  am  therefore  in  hopes  that 
these  few  words  of  introduction  will  aid  in  bringing  out  from  the 
members  statements  of  just  how  and  what  we  ought  to  exhibit  before 
our  foreign  veterinarians. 

The  idea  of  the  committee  is  to  demonstrate  in  the  report  the  char- 
acteristic investigations  along  the  lines  of  the  various  diseases  for 
which  each  station  is  noted.  This  should  be  prepared  in  a  technical, 
concise  manner,  yet  simple  and  practical  enough  to  prove  that  no 
nation  on  earth  has  done  more  along  these  lines  in  recent  years  than 
has  the  United  States  agricultural  experiment  stations.  For  instance, 
this  report  should  contain  an  outline  of  the  work  done,  together  with 
the  results  in  the  separate  States,  including  police  and  control  work, 
and  laboratory  and  field  investigations  and  experiments.  The  exhibit 
accompanying  said  report  should  consist  of  apparatus,  specimens, 
statistics,  and  all  materials  used,  thus  making  the  report  more  prac- 
tical and  illustrative  than  otherwise. 

To  make  such  a  showing  possible,  and  in  order  to  do  justice  to  the 
United  States  experiment  stations,  it  will  require  your  entire  cooper- 
ation in  the  matter;  and  allow  me,  in  closing,  to  express  the  hope 
that  you  will  each  and  every  one  enter  heartily  in  assisting  the  com- 
mittee to  gather  the  material  necessary  to  make  the  venture  a  success. 

THE  VALUE  TO  VETERINARIANS  OF  COOPERATIVE 
EXPERIMENTS. 

By  L.  L.  LEWIS,  M.  S.,  D.  V.  M., 
Veterinarian,  Oklahoma  Agricultural  Station. 

As  new  as  the  Association  of  Experiment  Station  Veterinarians 
is,  the  subject  of  cooperative  experiments  is  still  newer  so  far  as 
the  station  veterinarian  is  concerned.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that 
with  so  recent  an  organization  there  should  be  any  definite  under- 
standing in  regard  to  cooperative  work,  but  to  my  mind  there  is  no 
one  thing  more  necessary  to  the  advancement  of  the  veterinarian's 
work  than  an  organization  of  those  interested  in  experimental  work. 
Cooperative  experiments  will  follow  as  a  natural  consequence  of  such 
an  organization,  but  it  is  not  the  intention  or  province  of  this  paper 
to  favor  any  one  plan  of  work,  but  rather  to  try  to  mention  some  of 
its  advantages,  hoping  that  sufficient  interest  will  be  taken  in  the 
subject  to  bring  it  before  the  next  meeting  in  the  form  of  a  suitable 
discussion. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   ASSOCIATION   OF   VETERINARIANS.  25 

The  station  veterinarian's  work  is  almost  the  only  line  of  station 
work  that  is  not  to  a  certain  extent  cooperating  with  other  stations 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  more  complete  data  on  certain  lines  of 
work.  The  other  departments  of  the  station  are  getting  better  results 
by  cooperative  work,  not  only  with  other  experinient  stations,  but 
also  with  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  veterinarian  should 
not  be  less  ready  to  exchange  views  and  ideas  with  his  fellow  worker 
than  men  engaged  in  other  lines  of  work,  and  the  more  liberal  is  this 
exchange  the  surer  of  success. 

I  think  there  is  no  work  better  suited  to  such  organization  than  the 
work  of  the  veterinarian.  The  pathology  and  therapeutics  of  most  • 
of  the  contagious  and  infectious  diseases  can  be  as  successfully 
studied  in  one  part  of  the  country  as  another,  and  by  an  exchange 
of  data  on  the  work,  following  a  general  plan  or  outline,  some  defi- 
nite results  will  be  secured  in  very  much  less  time  than  by  the  pres- 
ent method  where  everyone  works  independently,  repeating  the 
mistakes  of  others  and  duplicating,  it  may  be,  a  large  amount  of 
work.  More  data  of  a  reliable  nature  could  be  secured  in  one  year 
on  any  given  subject  by  the  cooperation  of  several  stations  than  are 
now  available  in  from  two  to  five  years. 

It  is  not  probable  that  very  many  of  the  stations  will  do  very  much 
work  of  this  character  in  the  immediate  future.  There  has  been 
some  work  of  this  character  in  the  past  two  years  and,  so  far  as  the 
writer  knows,  it  is  a  satisfactory  method  of  conducting  experiments. 

Where  assistance  can  be  given  without  interfering  with  the  general 
plan  of  work  it  should  be  done  if  such  a  proposition  be  made.  But 
the  idea  of  cooperative  work  should  not  mean  the  sacrificing  of  one's 
ideas  of  method  and  manner  of  work;  if  it  did,  it  certainly  would  be 
a  failure. 

A  portion  of  the  station  veterinarian's  time  is  occupied  by  teaching, 
as  most  of  them  are  members  of  the  teaching  staff  in  the  agricultural 
colleges.  A  large  part  of  his  time  may  be  occupied  by  work  con- 
ducted in  the  laboratory  or  routine  in  character,  but  aside  from  this 
work  there  is  time  to  devote  to  field  experiments  or  to  laboratory 
work  of  a  cooperative  character. 

I  realize  that  a  more  able  writer  and  a  more  experienced  station 
worker  should  have  been  assigned  to  this  duty,  but  I  trust  that  by 
the  time  the  next  meeting  is  held  there  may  be  more  stations  inter- 
ested in  the  work,  as  I  believe  that  cooperation  will  increase  the  use- 
fulness of  the  veterinarian's  work  in  a  scientific  as  well  as  a  practical 
way. 


26  BUREAU   OF   ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 

The  Association  of  Experiment  Station  Veterinarians  is  an  out- 
growth from  the  correspondence  that  sprung  up  in  1896  among  vari- 
ous Experiment  Station  veterinarians  who  saw  the  necessity  of  such 
an  organization.  As  a  result  of  this  correspondence,  circular  letters 
were  sent  out  to  all  veterinarians  of  the  United  States  Experiment 
Stations  and  Agricultural  Colleges  asking  them  as  to  the  advisability 
of  such  a  movement,  and  informing  them  that  an  attempt  would  be 
made  to  organize  temporarily  at  the  Buffalo  meeting  of  the  United 
States  Veterinary  Medical  Association.  In  February,  1897,  another 
circular  letter  was  addressed  to  the  same  men  stating  that  a  tempo- 
rary organization  had  been  formed,  in  accordance  with  the  plans,  by 
Doctors  Salmon,  Stalker,  Reynolds,  Grange,  Gary,  Williams,  Pear- 
son, and  Peters.  It  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  these  gentlemen 
that  an  association  of  this  character  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  the 
station  veterinarian.  Accordingly,  at  the  Nashville  meeting  of  the 
United  States  Veterinary  Medical  Association  in  189T,  a  permanent 
organization  was  effected,  papers  were  read,  permanent  officers  were 
elected,  and  a  constitution  and  by-laws  adopted. 

The  second  annual  meeting,  the  proceedings  of  which  are  herewith 
published,  was  held  at  Omaha  with  the  United  States  Veterinary 
Medical  Association  on  September  8,  1898. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  BY-LAWS  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION  OF 
EXPERIMENT  STATION  VETERINARIANS. 


CONSTITUTION. 
ARTICLE  I. — NAME. 

This  Association  shall  be  known  as  the  Association  of  Experiment 
Station  Veterinarians. 

ARTICLE  II. — OBJECT. 

The  object  of  this  Association  is  to  bring  the  several  veterinarians 
of  the  different  Experiment  Stations  in  a  closer  communication,  to 
advance  their  common  interests  by  the  establishment  of  honorable 
and  fraternal  relations,  and  to  secure  the  benefits  of  cooperation  and 
united  action  in  bringing  into  prominence  the  merits  of  scientific 
veterinary  investigation. 

ARTICLE  III. — MEMBERS. 

All  those  who  are  connected  with  the  U.  S.  Experiment  Stations 
and  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Art  Colleges  may,  upon  applica- 
tion and  the  payment  of  the  initiatory  fee,  become  members  of  this 
Association. 

ARTICLE  IV. — OFFICERS. 

Chapter  1.  The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  consist  of  a  Presi- 
dent, Vice- President,  Secretary-Treasurer,  and  three  Trustees,  who 
shall  constitute  the  Executive  Committee. 

Chapter  2.  The  officers  shall  be  elected  for  one  year  by  ballot  and 
hold  office  until  their  successors  are  elected. 

ARTICLE  V. — THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

The  Executive  Committee  shall  manage  the  business  of  the  Asso- 
ciation under  such  regulations  and  restrictions  as  the  Association 
may  from  time  to  time  prescribe. 


28  BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

BY-LAWS. 
SECTION  I. 

Article  1.  The  President  shall  preside  over  the  meetings  of  the 
Association. 

Article  2.  He  shall  deliver  an  address  at  the  annual  meeting  suc- 
ceeding his  election. 

Article  3.  He  shall  appoint  all  committees  not  otherwise  provided 
for. 

SECTION  II. 

Article  1.  The  Secretary  shall  give  due  notice  of  the  time  and 
place  of  each  annual  meeting.  He  shall  conduct  all  correspondence 
of  the  Association,  retain  copies,  and  report  the  same  at  each  meeting. 

Article  2.  The  Secretary  shall  also  perform  such  other  duties  as 
may  be  imposed  upon  him  by  the  Association. 

SECTION  III. 

Article  1.  The  Secretary-Treasurer  shall  collect  all  bills  due  the  As- 
sociation and  give  security  for  all  moneys  held  by  him  if  desired.  He 
shall  keep  a  correct  account  of  the  same,  holding  receipts  for  all  dis- 
bursements. He  shall  furnish  a  statement  of  the  funds  of  the  Asso- 
ciation at  each  annual  meeting,  or  oftener  if  desired. 

Article  2.  He  shall  be  the  custodian  of  all  moneys  belonging  to 
the  Association,  or  donations,  and  keep  a  correct  account  of  the  same 
with  the  names  of  the  donors,  and  report  such  members  as  have  failed 
to  pay  their  dues  for  one  year. 

Article  3.  The  Treasurer  shall  pay  out  no  money  from  the  treasury, 
or  dispose  of  any  money  or  property  of  the  Association,  without  the 
knowledge  and  approval  of  the  President.  All  bills  audited  by  the 
Finance  Committee  shall  be  paid  by  the  Treasurer  upon  the  order  of 
the  President. 

SECTION  IV. 

Article  1 .  Order  of  business : 
Roll  call. 

Pleading  of  minutes  of  previous  meeting. 
President's  address. 
Reports  of  committees. 
Admission  of  new  members. 
Unfinished  business. 
New  business. 
Election  of  officers. 
Miscellaneous  business. 
Papers  and  discussions. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF  ASSOCIATION   OF   VETERINARIANS.  29 

SECTION  V. 

Article  1.  Seven  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  trans- 
action of  business  at  the  annual  meeting. 

SECTION  VI. 

Article  1.  The  annual  dues  shall  be  one  dollar  ($1.00)  and  the  sec- 
retary is  instructed  to  levy  a  tax  upon  the  members  sufficient  to  cover 
any  deficit  that  may  occur. 

SECTION  VII. 

Article  1.  Any  proposed  alterations  or  amendments  to  the  consti- 
tution or  by-laws  shall  be  submitted  in  writing  to  each  member  of  the 
Association  at  least  three  months  before  the  next  annual  meeting. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LJBHARY  FAOUTY 


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